Scrubby

Day 345: The Cedar Waxwings may be missing in action, but another notable absence resolved yesterday when an unfamiliar squawk made me look up from my weaving. Scrubby was back! California Scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) are not common in my immediate area, although I've seen them every summer for the last three or four years. This inclines me to think that the boundaries of their range may be expanding from western Washington's lowland prairies to include the Cascade foothills. Those which have appeared at my feeders are somewhat larger than the Steller's Jays, both in length and bulk. "That's a BIG bird!" I said, looking out the window and remembering the dainty weight of a Canada (Grey) Jay on my hand as I listened to this individual pounding the bejaizus out of a sunflower seed it had wedged into a crack in the feeder. It polished off that one, retrieved another from a different tray and returned with it to use the same "clamp." It stood on the seed until it had it in the correct position, and then with a few deft pokes, lodged it securely for the more serious task of opening the hull. As anyone who has ever eaten sunflower seeds in the shell can tell you, you don't gain many calories for the work involved, but Scrubby has it down to a science, and he was still out there banging away when I closed the curtains for the night.